It's going about as well as could be hoped for a child who never, not one time, has gone to sleep without physical contact with his parents. We've followed what the books say: create a ritual, play the same song, put on the same PJs (for those in the PSM area, it's actually sleep sack), read the same book, whatever it takes.
And its taken surprisingly little. We started with naps, and the first few days of screaming he was going down quickly. I distinctly remember the first time it happened, because I was steeling myself for a knock down drag out, and I was shocked when I popped the pacifier in and his little eyelids immediately drooped shut.
He learned the rules quickly, and rightly so: as a baby your job is to survive and grow, so why waste energy crying over something you can't change? There's no percentage in stubbornness. You cry the first day, and the second day, and after that let it go and move on. There's plenty of stuff to cry about.
But he still wakes up in the middle of his naps with a terrified look on his face. I have to say, it brings me great pleasure to lean over the co-sleeper, lock eyes with him, watch him recognize my face, see the sense of peace and calm that washes over him, and stand there until his eyes close sleepily again.
Also he's started chewing on his tongue. He looks like an old man working a piece of gristle, mouth hanging slack, drool coming out. Those cheeks bouncing up and down trying to catch up. It's a sight to behold.
And, finally: he's not interested in rolling over anymore. That's so last week. Skill mastered, now there's more important stuff to do. So we put him on his back and he just lies there looking at us, like what the fuck am i supposed to do with this? And then after a few minutes he start crying.
(He can still do it, though. I was worried he had regressed and could no longer roll over. But when he wants to he flips faster than a cat laid on her back and tied down with scotch tape. which does not work fyi.)
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